The Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee has secured $21,070 thanks to the Palaszczuk Government’s Queensland Citizen Science Grant program announced Member for Bulimba Di Farmer.
“They have secured this grant for the Bulimba Creek Catchment Citizen Science Nest Box Monitoring project.
“This is an excellent project and I encourage our community to get involved with it,” Ms Farmer said.
Member for Lytton Joan Pease said its fantastic that the Queensland Government is backing Citizen Science projects.
“The Nest Box Monitoring project will allow locals to actively get involved in important environmental conservation work and help out our scientists with research and data collection.”
Ms Enoch said the Queensland Citizen Science Grants program was designed to boost community participation in research projects and to encourage researchers to work with Queensland’s citizen scientists.
“Participating in science helps people make better decisions in their day-to-day lives, treat the environment responsibly and understand the role science can play in addressing complex global issues,” Ms Enoch said.
“For our kids, being involved in citizen science projects gives them a taste of what it is like to be a scientist and gives them a range of STEM-related skills.
“These skills are so important, and they teach the next generation how to look at how we deal with big challenges, such as global climate change and food and water security.”
Ms Carly Murphy from the Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee said artificial fauna nest boxes were currently used in the creek’s catchment area due to a lack of hollow bearing trees.
Tree hollows are crucial for many Australian native animals, providing safe sites for roosting and breeding.
Ms Murphy said there needs to be further research into what factors influence the uptake of nest boxes by target species.
“Our aim is to identify which animals use nest boxes installed in local bushlands and parks. Citizen Scientists will gather observational data using special monitoring equipment and analyse what they find with the support of Griffith University,” Ms Murphy said.
Queensland Chief Scientist Professor Paul Bertsch said the Queensland Citizen Science Grants also supports Queensland researchers in their pursuit of scientific discovery.
“Citizen Scientists can contribute significantly to the capacity and scale of data collection, helping scientists better understand the environment and deliver science that contributes to better management and policy outcomes,” Professor Bertsch said.
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